Joel Grey Quotes

What you learn from studying acting is that you have to have the courage to just make strong choices.

The way I choose parts is I look at the scripts... I choose a part by whether or not it challenges me.

As an actor, you should be willing to take challenges.

A wonderful but kind of a terrible truth about acting is that you actually get to a point where you become content with an impossible task: it is really impossible to properly prepare. You kind of have to start over every time.

I think having a character piece is great. It will challenge you and be different.

I ask all my actors to do two things: I ask them to fail for me, and I ask them to surprise me.

You can't really plan with acting!

Preparing for roles sounds so academic, doesn't it? It feels as if you are preparing for an examination! In a creative medium, the preparation is of an entirely different kind, and for me, the ideas flow from the script itself.

Every project is a new challenge for an actor. If it's not, it's boring.

For any role, I pretty much always go to the script, first and foremost.

I think that different actors go about their preparation differently, but when it comes to acting, I use my imagination.

With acting, you wanna see if you can get into trouble without knowing how you're gonna get out of it. It's like the exact opposite of war, where you need an exit strategy. When you're acting, you should get all the way into trouble with no exit strategy, and have the cameras rolling.

For me, I've always been one that reads a script and has been ready, wiling and able to go out and fight for parts.

As an actor, I'm always up for exploring and trying new things.

It's very good for me to remember what actors go through.

It's a surprisingly sacrificial job being an actor.

The thing about acting is you have to wait to be asked to the dance.

I think actors get too comfortable. I like being uncomfortable as an actor because it keeps you alive. I don't know, I think it's important.

I take my time to get into the mindset of the character and say my lines. I really have to be the person that I am playing.

An actor's life is like a series of - it's like the first day of school happening over and over again.

As an actor, you don't know what is going to come next.

No, most of the decisions that I make with regard to taking roles, I just look for something that's challenging, something that I think I can accomplish, you know.

As an actor, you have to be open to doing things where you look stupid, to be experimental.

I don't really give much thought to the roles that I'd ideally love to play.

I'm an actor. That's what I'm gifted at. It's what makes me breathe.